The Ohio Democratic Party announces the formation of the Affirmative Action Committee for the 2012 delegate selection process (and includes LGBT)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2011

Contact: Press Office

press@ohiodems.org

Ohio Democratic Party Releases Draft of 2012 Delegate Selection Plan

COLUMBUS – As per Democratic National Committee rules, the Ohio Democratic Party has begun the process of selecting delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. A first draft of the delegate selection plan has been made public today. That draft can be viewed here. The Democratic National Committee requires a 30-day period during which comments can be made on the first draft of the Ohio Democratic Party Delegate Selection Plan. Comments can be directed to Bill DeMora at bdemora@ohiodems.org. The comment period begins today, March 1 and will conclude at the close of business on March 31. A final draft of the delegate selection plan will be voted on by the Ohio Democratic Party State Executive Committee in April.

Today, the Ohio Democratic Party also announced the formation of the Affirmative Action Committee for the 2012 delegate selection process. The committee will meet for the first time on March 19 in Columbus. In order to encourage full participation by all Democrats in the delegate selection process and in all Party affairs, the Ohio Democratic Party has adopted and will implement affirmative action programs with specific goals and timetables for African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Americans, the LGBT community, and women and youth. The goal of the affirmative action programs is to encourage participation in the delegate selection process and in Party organizations at all levels by the aforementioned groups as indicated by their presence in the Democratic electorate.

The Affirmative Action Committee is comprised of the following members:

David Betras (Boardman)

Bill DeMora (Columbus)

Jay Goyal (Mansfield)

Amy Groya (Solon)

Tracy Heard (Columbus)

Wade Kapszukiewicz (Toledo)

Joseph Lacey (Dayton)

Mark Mallory (Cincinnati)

Rhine McLin (Dayton)

Lakshmi Satyanarayana (Columbus)

Lupe Williams (Wooster)

Sandra Williams (Cleveland)

Fred Strahorn (Dayton)

Angelita Cruz Bridges (Ottawa Hills)

Nikki Antonio (Lakewood)

Debbie Phillips (Athens)

Roger Tackett (South Charleston)

Randy Weston (Morral)

-30-